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Sun of Shadows/Chapter 6
This is the sixth chapter in Sun of Shadows and the sixth in part one, Light. Lumeon Iris dropped to her knees. It happened before she even knew what she was doing - but the others did the same. Even their companions, Boulder and Shimmer and Four-Leaf, showed respect to the most powerful of Keepers. They couldn't help it. Despite his kind words, Iris could feel that he was enjoying their worship. He wasn't much different from Caelus and Aricel, where one should pay very close attention to the correct choice of words. One thing was clear, they had to be careful... so she'd let the others talk. What was at stake here was too important. "Thank you for receiving us, great Lumeon." It was Geb who spoke. Who else? Iris had to smile. Geb often didn't think much of himself, but when it came down to things like this, hardly anyone was better suited to the situation than him. "It is our greatest honor to stand before you." Lumeon purred again. Of course, that was exactly what he wanted to hear. But Iris doubted that Geb was aware of it. It was just his way of following etiquette. Normally, Iris would have teased him with that, but right now he was doing exactly the right thing. Still, she didn't miss Sedna rolling her eyes. "Who brought you here?", Lumeon asked. "And for what reason? Surely you know how rarely ordinary Elmen enter this place." Geb went on, probably knowing that he couldn't expect much help from the others. "That was Acquois, your Highness. He believed in our plan." "And that would be what?" Lumeon sounded curious, but also suspicious. Don't say anything wrong, Geb! The Earth Elm swallowed too, then took a deep breath. "Our tribes - Earth, Sky, and Water alike - have been haunted by the Shadows for months and it's the same at the other tribes we've visited. And, well, we were wondering..." He paused, searching for the right words. Sedna jumped in before Iris could have the thought. "We were wondering why the Tribe of Light doesn't live up to its legends and prevent hundreds of innocent Elmen from falling victim to the Shadows." Astonished silence. Iris waited anxiously for Lumeon's reaction - Sedna's words had been surprisingly direct. But did Lumeon like that? The lion looked down at them without emotion, his purring gone. "Were you taught the prophecy?" The friends nodded. Even Karzelek, who had only learned about it from the others quite recently. Telling Lumeon the truth about his tribe would only make things more complicated. "Good." Lumeon's massive tail whipped uneasily, the only sign of his true feelings. His voice was still controlled. "So you know that the Hero of Light will come to defeat Umbrath." "We do," Geb agreed. "It's just, uh, we're not quite aware why so many Elmen have to be sacrificed before. Surely your tribe would have the power to stop the Shadows." "Of course," Lumeon said and suddenly seemed as friendly as before, almost thrilled. "I think there is a misunderstanding here. You see, as soon as the chosen one defeats Umbrath, all Shadows return to their original form. It does not matter how many Elmen have become Shadows before then, all of this will soon be history by the hand of the chosen one." Could it be? Was the solution to the problem so easy? Iris couldn't help herself, she had to speak up. "Who is the chosen one?" "May we meet him?", Geb added, now that she had said it. "I see. Hyperion thought it best to first inform me before speaking to you about the Hero of Light." Lumeon's gaze wandered up to where Perry was still waiting, he hadn't come back to them. "Hyperion!", the lion roared in their heads that Iris's skull was almost bursting. She looked to the stairs in anticipation, but nothing happened. Would Perry dare oppose Lumeon? Then she saw him. Perry's wings beat in perfect unison as he moved down from above, making sure he didn't fall. He landed safely on both legs and folded his wings like Iris already knew it from him. Was she wrong or did he suddenly seem bigger in Lumeon's presence and more... heroic? She froze at the thought. No, that was completely ridiculous. Perry couldn't possibly - "Here he is," she was interrupted by Lumeon. "The Hero of Light." Iris cracked up. She couldn't help it - Perry was supposed to be the chosen one? This spruce but risible boy with the weird way of talking? Lumeon, the greatest of all Keepers, wasn't very good at joking. Sedna rammed her with her elbow, and hard. So hard that Iris fell silent. Before she could protest, she met Lumeon's stern gaze. She couldn't stand it... and prayed to Aricel that she wouldn't be punished. Why did she always have to mess everything up? "Do you have something to object to this choice?", Lumeon asked. He didn't sound very warm anymore. Geb took a step forward. Was he trying to defend her? "She didn't want to make fun of you," he said carefully. "It's just... we all imagined the chosen one differently. Older, for example." "The abilities of the chosen one do not depend on simple outward appearances," Lumeon countered. "I assure you that Hyperion knows how to deal with all the obstacles Umbrath challenges him to overcome. But I understand your concerns. Would this sight make you more confident?" She was about to wonder what he meant when she saw it already: Perry changed, seemed to grow before her eyes, to age, until a muscular man stood in his place, proud and sublime, and in every way the hero she had mentally pictured for months. But Sedna grabbed her knife, Karzelek took a step back, and Iris herself suppressed a scream. Too absurd was what was happening. "Calm down," Lumeon said. "To age Elmen is beyond even my power." "But how...", Iris stammered. Lumeon purred, proud to have impressed them. "It's an illusion, that's all. I break the light, reflect it... and let the air take shape." He raised a paw and looked as if he wanted to beat Perry with it. But he just moved it right through his head so that the illusion flickered for a moment and they could see the much smaller Elm underneath. Lumeon kept the illusion up for a moment, before it vanished into space within the blink of an eye. "Fascinating," Sedna said, sounding a bit impressed after all. But she already changed the subject: "So, if I understand you correctly, Lumeon, you will only send the chosen one to Umbrath and not do anything against the Shadows beforehand." "Because it isn't necessary," he agreed. "So we came here for nothing?" "For nothing?", Perry repeated. The first thing he said since Lumeon was here. "You are the first Elmen to enter this island for hundreds of years." "Still, it would be better if you leave as soon as possible," Lumeon said. "Not everyone will approve of your stay here. I will tell Acquois to pick you up in the morning. Hyperion will show you where to stay until then." The boy nodded and made his way back to the huge hallway. "Follow me." The friends exchanged a confused look. Was this the end of their conversation with Lumeon? Geb's eyes made it clear that it was better to follow Perry for now. So they followed the request and joined him. It wasn't until Iris had made sure Lumeon had disappeared to the upper floors again that she dared speak. "Why didn't you tell us you're the chosen one?" As much as she tried, she couldn't take him seriously in that role. That's why she didn't sound impressed as she spoke. "You didn't ask." "Because that's one of the things you just tell other people." Perry just shrugged. "Is it true what Lumeon said?", Karzelek now dared ask. "That you're powerful enough to defeat Umbrath?" In contrast to her, there was clearly awe in his voice. "I have to be." She would have preferred a Yes, of course. But of course, it was probably hard to judge even for him. Even Sedna didn't let up. "What do you think about our plan? That you should help the tribes before Umbrath awakes?" "Lumeon knows better than me." Perry didn't say more. Instead, he opened a door through which, luckily, Boulder fit as well. "We don't have any spare beds, you are our first visitors after all," he informed them. "You can stay in Thesan's room, though." "Thesan isn't here right now?", Sedna asked skeptically. "No. Lumeon has imprisoned her." "Imprisoned?", Geb repeated in astonishment. Iris agreed with him: Thesan had to be a Light Elmin like everyone here. What could she possibly have done - and how did you lock away someone who could control light? Perry nodded as he showed them the room. There was only one bed, but the room itself was big enough for all of them, including their companions. Fine fabrics and elaborate ornaments suggested what the room had once looked like, but now it was clear that no one had slept here for years. "Lumeon has had a floor built just for her. There is a room no light ever reaches." Iris shuddered. "How long has she been down there?" "More than ten years." Perry let his eyes wander. "Forgive the condition of this room. We never needed to reuse it." "It'll be fine," she said, after all, after living with the Crows, she was used to worse than dust. Thesan's story, however, didn't leave her mind. She herself didn't have to be a Light Elmin to find ten years without any light terrible. Thesan must have done something really, really bad. "Why was Thesan imprisoned?" "She broke the laws of our tribe." The friends looked at each other. Iris was involuntarily reminded of the law of the Shadows Geb had told her about: They had to turn someone into a Shadow in every place they entered. Of course that didn't apply to the Light Elmen. Perry went on without them having to ask. So there was something good about him talking so much. "For example, we cannot leave the island without Lumeon's permission." "And she did that?", Karzelek asked. "Yes. We should not show ourselves to any other Elmen either, she disregarded that as well." "That's why you keep her trapped down there?" Iris stared at him. She had expected worse. Much, much worse. Instead, what Perry said sounded more like something all of them would have done. "Lumeon knows what he's doing." As usual, Perry didn't have his own opinion. Iris rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Perry's eyes wandered back to the door. "I'm leaving now. See you soon." For a fraction of a second, his eyes darted to Sedna, but it was over so quickly that Iris wondered if she had imagined it. And then he was gone. Iris scoffed and dropped to the big bed that would accommodate several of them. Dust whirled up and Sedna sneezed. Iris grinned, but only briefly. "Well, that went great." "What did you expect?" The Water Elmin stayed where she was. "We can be happy we're still alive." Karzelek started to shake the pillows. Sedna turned away from him as a huge cloud of dust formed. "I think Iris is right. After all you've told me, Lumeon should have helped us. And the chosen one... the chosen one shouldn't be as old as us." "At least we agree on that," Sedna muttered. "What do you think of the whole thing, Geb?" Iris also turned to her big friend, who had been unusually quiet for the last few minutes. And now - he hit his fist on the bed and screamed. Iris backed away a step, but Karzelek caught himself quickly and handed him the still-unused second pillow. Geb accepted it and punched it so heaps of dust were sent flying. "I can't believe it!", he yelled. "We came all the way - all the way across two continents and almost caused a war. We destroyed a city and Karzelek killed someone and... and all of that for nothing? They're just sending us back? Lumeon can't do that! He... he can't..." Powerless, he dropped his pillow and Karzelek put a hand on his back - he didn't get higher than that. Boulder snorted anxiously and nestled against his companion. Sedna left the room with an apologetic gesture - no wonder, with all the dust. Iris, however, just stared at Geb, she had only seen him this exasperated once. And that had been a while ago... With deep breaths, Geb tried to calm down again. Karzelek continued, "I think we all agree on that. But Lumeon... I don't know if we should try talking to him again. " "Perry is more likely to listen to us than he is," Iris agreed. "But that doesn't help us much. He certainly won't defy Lumeon." "We have to do something," Geb said firmly. "Even after what Lumeon said, innocent Elmen shouldn't be turned into Shadows. Especially not when the Tribe of Light is able to prevent it." "Honestly?" Iris decided to say it. "If you ask me, this tribe is just lazy." Karzelek looked at her. "Are you allowed to say that?" "We've seen that it's true. Maybe not Perry, but I don't think we can expect any help from the others." They were silent for a while, unsure what to do next. Everything had gone so differently from what they'd planned. At some point Sedna came back, leaning against a wall, visibly relieved that the dust had settled. "Alright," she said. "Any idea what we should do now? You're always full of those, Iris." Iris grimaced, although she felt with surprise that Sedna didn't mean it in an offensive way. Nothing they had thought of would work. But what else should they do? Except for Perry and Lumeon, they couldn't ask anyone for help - she had a dull feeling that the other Light Elmen wouldn't be very cooperative either. Except for... She froze. There was someone who would help them. Someone who was different from the other Light Elmen. Thesan, the prisoner. From what Perry had told them, the reasons for her imprisonment were trivial. Iris didn't know how big Lumeon's island was, but never being allowed to leave it? She wouldn't be able to resist long. And why shouldn't the Light Elmen talk to other tribes? That was what they were supposed to do. They should protect the tribes, always. Not just on a single day in history. Had Thesan maybe tried to do just that? "Iris?" She heard Sedna's annoyed voice. "Are you still going to answer me?" One thing was clear: she couldn't tell her friends about her plan. It fell exactly in the category of reckless ideas that never found approval. She would have to go through with it alone. "What I suggest?", she finally replied. "I think we should sleep over it." No one objected to that. Category:Chapters Category:EE3 Chapters